November 22, 2010 - The US Airline Pilots Association
(USAPA), representing the pilots of US Airways, on
Tuesday picketed Ronald
ReaganWashington
NationalAirport to bring attention
to what it believes to be US Airways' efforts to take
advantage of its pilots, already the lowest-compensated
pilot group among the major airlines.

Tuesday?s picketing event is a continuation of the
pilots' public display of frustration with what USAPA
believes to be US Airways management's deliberate
efforts to slow the pace of contract negotiations since
2005.

In
October, US Airways reported a third quarter net profit
of $240 million, the highest third quarter net profit in
its history. The company has also reported record
traffic and leading metrics in on-time performance and
customer satisfaction during the last few months.

"Our
pilots have made significant sacrifices in our salaries,
pensions and benefits to help US Airways during its times of
need," said Captain Mike Cleary, president of USAPA. Those
concessions have left our pilots the lowest paid in our
industry. Our reward for investing in this airline and posting
leading performance numbers is to remain the lowest-compensated
pilots among our peers. By dragging negotiations out for more
than five years, US Airways is effectively extending those
concessions indefinitely. Considering that US Airways is
reporting record profits and 60% increases in management costs
since 2006, it is no surprise that our pilots are angry."

"We firmly
believe that US Airways management is taking advantage of us by
abusing the latitude afforded them in the Railway Labor Act
(RLA)," added Cleary. "However, under specific circumstances,
the RLA also permits job actions. It is important that the
public realize that we have always tried to work with US Airways
management to seek joint solutions, and we are committed to
doing so in our contract negotiations," Cleary continued.

"However,
after five years of Management?s stalling tactics, we have to
consider what is best for our membership. Our negotiating
positions are reasonable, and we think that our passengers
understand our unwillingness to being taken advantage of.
Everyone has their breaking point, and we are prepared to strike
as soon as we are legally permitted to do so by the Railway
Labor Act."

The US Airline Pilots Association (USAPA) represents the
more than 5,000 mainline pilots who fly for US Airways.
USAPA?s mission is to ensure safe flights for airline
passengers by guaranteeing that their lives are in the
hands of only the most qualified, competent and
well-equipped pilots. USAPA will fight against any
practices that may jeopardize its pilots' training,
equipment, workplace environment, compensation or
work/life balance, or that compromise its pilots'
ability to execute the optimal flight.